Nowadays, in the field of passenger cars, gas bags of a whole variety of types which are filled with compressed gas by a gas generator when there is a crash in order to protect a vehicle occupant, have become standard. So that no danger is posed by the gas generator in the case of a fire, either while conveying a gas bag module prior to fitting into a vehicle or in the fitted state of the gas bag module, gas generators are subjected to the so-called bonfire test of the German Federal Institute for Materials Testing with which the gas generator is subjected for a long time to an increased ambient temperature. The gas-producing material contained in the gas generator should ignite itself here, and burn down under controlled conditions. It must also be ensured, in particular so as to guarantee safety during conveyance, that in the case of a fire, the gas bag module behaves thrust-neutrally, i.e. that when the gas generator is burning down, no thrust is produced.
The invention provides a gas bag module which, in a normal case of release, provides for rapid and reliable filling of a gas bag, and which in the case of a fire, is characterized by thrust-neutrality, even in a fully pre-assembled or a fitted state.